Martin Austermuhle
When it comes to who the D.C. Republican Party should side with in the 2008 presidential contest, the choice is obvious — Mike Huckabee.
Sure, the former governor of Arkansas doesn’t have much of a chance of winning, but he’s been consistent in his support of D.C. voting rights. In yesterday’s All-American Presidential Forum on PBS, hosted by Tavis Smiley, it was Huckabee who backed voting rights for the District’s 600,000 residents. In response to a question, Huckabee stated, “I believe that the people of D.C. should be able to vote for representation. I think that’s appropriate, for the simple reason of equality and justice….They ought to be able to vote.” And while his claims might have seemed like pandering to Smiley’s largely black audience, in late August Huckabee broke with President Bush on the issue, arguing, “They’re American citizens. They pay taxes and it just doesn’t seem right that someone could be even partially disenfranchised.”
On the other end of things, a number of the Republican hopefuls might have lost their chance with local voters. Rep. Ron Paul (R-Tex.) and Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Ca.) voted against legislation that would grant the District a voting seat in the House of Representatives, as did Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.). Frontrunners Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney and Fred Thompson have yet to take a stand on D.C. voting rights, so they may still be able to woo the small number of Republicans that call the District home.
